St. John's Blog

Congratulations to Stephanie Wintjes and Borislav Varadinov, who have organized the International Community Art Show, and all the art teachers and teachers, parents and associates who are collaborating artists on the theme of ‘Nature and Culture’. Thank you also to Mrs. Swanson’s students Sabrina Huston and Katherine O’Shea who performed music on the evening of the opening vernissage ‘Let me use a parable’. The parable of the tree. The artist has busied himself with this world of many forms and, let us assume, he has in some measure got his bearings in it; quietly, all by himself. He is so clearly oriented that he orders the flux of phenomena and experiences. I shall liken this orientation, in the things of nature and of life, this complicated order, to the roots of the tree. From the roots the sap rises up into the artist, flows through him and his eyes. He is the trunk of the tree. Seized and moved by the force of the current, he directs his vision into his work. Visible on all sides, the crown of the tree unfolds in space and time. And so with the work. No one will expect a tree to form its crown in exactly the same way as its roots. We all know that what goes on above cannot be an exact mirror image of what goes on below.’ Paul Klee

Coming soon, immediately after the Easter break is IB 2 ART EXAM, EXHIBITION AND AUCTION. The IB 2 students are preparing an exhibition in the gallery and studios featuring a selection of their work as it has progressed over the two years of their course and will be interviewed by the visiting examiner on the 23nd of April. The vernissage/opening will be Friday the 27th April from 6.00pm-8.00pm and the auction starts 7.00pm. All the proceeds will go towards ‘The Rahula Trust’ to help some of the world’s poorest children receive an education. http://www.rahula-trust.org/ Look out for the poster below and around school after the break 11the grade IB 1 students are finishing off their transcription projects which are going up around school with their statements both before and after the Easter break. The students chose a specific work of art as a starting point for a personal interpretation. Based on careful critical and contextual research and analysis in their investigation workbooks they made an original work of their own developed in the studio through visual experimentation and a variety of media and processes.

Apart from taking part in the all school art exhibition in May they will be putting their final personal assignments up in the gallery in June for the IB1 Summer Show which will stay up over the summer for visitors to see. The 10th grade’s digital and darkroom photography assignment based on Pablo Neruda’s ‘Odes to Common Things’ can be seen around school. Students made sequences of photographs of ordinary objects viewed in unusual ways. They manipulated light and shadow, colour, viewpoint and framing to create visual ‘poems’. Their anatomical studies can be viewed alongside their developing ‘Hidden Structures’ projects, in which they explore original ideas in variety of different media and processes on 22nd May till June in the gallery at the All School Art Exhibition. The 9th grade’s intaglio printmaking project using the new high school etching press can be seen framed around school and in the middle school foyer. Students developed and extended their observational drawings and sketches through the process of engraving and printing series of impressions using black oil based ink and overlapping oil and water-based coloured ink in layers. They are currently working on a ceramics unit called ‘Empty Vessels’ in which they are researching contemporary ceramics, drawing natural forms and developing designs on paper and in clay of ceramics vessels using a pinch pot and other modeling techniques and different glazes.

Alan Mitchell – HS Art teacher

Communication, according to many experts, is the creation and sharing of meaning. Is there a form of communication that transcends linguistic boundaries and cultural divides?Can art, dance, drama and music speak to all people everywhere? If the Arts are a Universal Language, are they capable of uniting all of us?

The arts can be used to develop intercultural relationships, inspire creativity and influence how people “see things” and open them up to new possibilities. Just as the painter gazes at the blank canvas, and the actor steps onto the darkened stage, and the musician is surrounded by the silence that precedes the first sound, the journey of the artist is not defined by any destination ,but by the infinite possibilities uncovered in the pursuit of profound human communication.

There have been many possibilities this term starting with the HS musical “Fame” in January. There was a second visiting artist vernissage, Rock for Rosie and the Refugees, IB Drama Showcase, School-wide Dance Showcase and the Chamber Concert. Students have been able to meet and work with students from across the world at HS ISTA in Munich, MS ISTA at ISB and St. John’s hosted the AMIS International Senior Honor Orchestra and Mixed Choir Festival with students from 42 international schools with 35 nationalities all performing together. There is one more event this term, the School-wide Spring Concert on Tuesday 27^th March at 7pm. Come and join us for an evening of music with students from Grades 1 -12 performing together.

Next term promises to be just as busy with a new venture of a combined ES and MS Spring play “Wind in the Willows”. Please look at the Visual and Performing Arts Calendar on the Arts  page of the website (www.stjohns.be/arts_welcome.php) for details of all upcoming events.

To finish I would like to share two comments given to me by Grade 2 Irish Dancers at the Dance Showcase. When asked “what did you like the best thing about this evening?” they said ‘that we could dance” and  “that you would let us”.

Cathy Swanson – Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator

St. John’s hosted the 2012 ISST Girls Division 1 Basketball Championship this past week, March 8-10. The tournament lived up to its slogan, “Peace, Love, Basketball”. The three days of competition were filled with great spirit, sportsmanship and wonderful basketball. The tournament was made up of 12 teams from 9 different countries and a total of 120 athletes.

ACS Athens was the dominant team of the tournament, winning its five games by an average margin of 41 points, and beating the American School of Paris in convincing fashion in the championship game, 69-26. The St. John’s girls finished in a very solid sixth place, posting wins over the International School of The Hague and Zurich International School.

Our basketball players were not the only St. John’s students working hard throughout the tournament. A group of 8^th grade media students in Caitlin Krause’s Media Studies class led the way in covering the event. The students wrote game stories, interviewed players and took photos, which all contributed to a daily newsletter, recapping the day’s events. This newsletter was posted on the tournament’s website (http://www.stjohns.be/ath_isst_gb_2012.php) at the end of each day and handed out to spectators, coaches and players first thing in the morning. In addition, the students managed a live video stream of all games played in the Arena, which included a live score update at the top of the screen – just like on TV! The icing on the cake was a live score update for both gyms throughout the day on the website itself. While the students were given ideas and some guidance, they surpassed all expectations and displayed the incredible amount of talent present at St. John’s.

The boys’ basketball ISST Championship took place simultaneously down the road at the International School of Brussels. While only losing one game, the St. John’s boys finished fifth overall, beating the American School of Paris, Cairo American College, the International School of Brussels and Frankfurt International School along the way.

The swim team travelled to The Hague for this year’s ISST Championship. The team won 7 medals, 6 bronzes and 1 silver, and finished 7^th overall.  Helene Seegert ended the season in style, beating three school records at the ISST’s. Soraya Kezelman and Elliot Sodemann impressed as well, setting two and one new school record, respectively.

The St. John’s community has many reasons to be proud. As the spring sports season is getting started, let us all hope for many more good moments to come.

 Preben Gietz, Assistant Athletic Director

Dear parents,

Last week, more than 200 highly capable high school musicians from around the globe graced St. John’s with their energy and enthusiasm for music.  The Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) has been coordinating fantastic music opportunities for more than 20 years, and this was the 4^th time St. John’s has hosted and event, this time the AMIS Mixed Choir and Senior Orchestra festival.  Guest conductors David Lawrence and Jonathan Mann worked amazingly well with the students to prepare them for the concert on Saturday night last week.  It was indeed a pleasure to host this wonderful event at St. John’s to promote the love and appreciation for music in our schools. 

St. John’s also hosted a Primary Years Programme (PYP) re-authorization visit last week.  This team of three educators from other schools in Europe were here to “audit” the program as delivered by St. John’s.  After months of preparation and self-study, it was no surprise to hear the visitors were more than impressed with what they saw at St. John’s.  As one of the first PYP schools in Europe, St. John’s sets examples for other schools in many areas of instruction, Units of Inquiry delivery, and PYP program development.  Teachers from St. John’s have developed materials published in support of the PYP, presented at numerous PYP conferences, and have hosted workshops here at our Timber Tops facility.  But what the visitors were most impressed with was that the children at St. John’s truly live the attributes of the IB Learner Profile…living testimony to the teaching and support of the program and its values.  What St. John’s has been able to do with its curriculum, instruction, and student learning to deliver on the ethos of the PYP is highly commendable.  A complete report on the visit and decision on re-authorization will follow, but I am confident that St. John’s will pass the test with flying colors.

This week, St. John’s hosts the International Schools Sports Tournament (ISSTs) Girls Division 1 Basketball tournament Thursday through Saturday.  Twelve teams, 120 athletes, from around the European region will be competing in a great event meant to development sportsmanship, self-confidence, team-work and camaraderie among all participants.  Come and support the Lady Lions and enjoy some great basketball at St. John’s this weekend!

Blessings to all – Tom Hawkins, Director

Dear parents,

For those who were unable to attend the wonderful AMIS International Honor Orchestra and Mixed Choir Festival concert on Saturday night, please enjoy some of the videos posted on our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/mystjohns and the photos in our gallery at www.stjohns.be/photos

Thank you to Cathy Swanson and all involved in making this festival happen at St. John’s!

ISSTs are only a week away. You may know that the Girls Basketball ISST tournament will take place at St. John’s from March 7-10. We hope you will come and cheer on the Lady Lions for their games. Please click here to see the schedule. Go Lions!

Most everyone talks about having peace in the world. From philosophers to politicians to rock stars and religious folks, a longing for peace is expressed in a variety of ways and through a variety of mediums. It is a daunting subject for adults resulting into discussions and even arguments over the role of politics, the cause and results of warfare, the rights and wrongs of countries and more.  But for young children, the topic is limited in scope.  It involves every day conflicts with their peers in the school yard, the classroom, and the cafeteria – all part of the daily life of a school day!

Thus, here in Saint John’s Elementary School, we have started a training program to help young children be peacemakers.  Coordinated by the Elementary School Counselor, the 18 members of the Student Council (grades 3, 4 and 5)   participated in several sessions of a very simple strategy to help resolve conflicts.  With the hope to spread the training to other groups of students, the essence of this program is that the ‘peacemaker’ does NOT solve the problem.  Instead, the ‘peacemaker’ assists the people in conflict to solve the problem themselves by leading them through a simple process using Active Listening and I Messages!

Can you imagine how many conflicts could be resolved if people really listened to one another? Through some simple exercises, the students involved in the training, practice putting themselves in the other person’s place to listen and understand what the person is saying and how he/she feels. Non verbal behaviors (facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and posture) are encouraged to show understanding and acceptance rather than the opposite.  Students learn to restate the other person’s most important thoughts and check to make sure that they understand them clearly leaving out any personal feelings or similar experiences. The students practice remaining neutral throughout the conversation.

In addition, the peacemakers help the students in conflict to use I –messages to communicate feelings without blaming the other person. Through a scripted approach and using good eye contact, the students are trained to tell how and why they feel the way that they do.

So what is the impact of such a program?  Obviously not world peace and yet, for young children in our international school, it is a step forward in believing that peace can take root in their own playground and that they have a hand in making it a possibility.

As Maria Montessori said, “Establishing lasting peace is the work of education: all politics can do is keep us out of war.”

Johanna Bambridge – Elementary School principal